Stand In The Rain
by Zeobide274
Summary: this is the story of a young girl who is outcasted and treated like a monster for most of her life. when she runs away from her village, she meets a kindred spirit. will love blossom or will the demon of the sand bury that love before its even begun? G/OC
1. Shilo

**I don't own Naruto. Sorry for not posting this yesterday but I started college again and now I'm really busy. From now on my updates won't be weekly anymore. I will update when I can and if I can. I'm sorry but I'm not quitting so please bear with me. **

**Okay so this is the story that I'm taking over for bloodytears87. The story she wrote was great and funny and one that I truly enjoyed but sadly she decided to discontinue it. She offered to let someone take over and I volunteered at once. I could not let a story like this be left unfinished so I will be trying my best to live up to her expectations and finish this story. **

**If you all wish, please read the original story at her profile. it's a very good story and it will give you an idea as to where I'm heading with this. Even though I'm taking over, I'm also rewriting it to fit my writing style and also with a new beginning so as to not just copy her outright. Its still the same plot just told a little different. I hope that you all enjoy and that you will support me on this since this is the first time that I've ever done this. Thanks again and enjoy.**

**Stand In The Rain**

**Chapter 1: Shilo **

Near the border of the land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, where the greenery had lessened to small desolate patches of dead grass. Here there were no more trees and the nearest ones were a mile away. On this barren path where the ground became looser and had begun to sink, a young girl tiredly ran across. She had long light purple that was flying in with the wind as it blew past her. Her clothes were so tattered and worn that it was hard to distinguish any features beside the obvious fact that she wore a loose long sleeve shirt and shorts. Both articles of clothing were sweat soaked and dirtied by the elements.

The young girl was staggering as she kept running, her stomach growling and her throat dry as the desert she had just entered. She was heading toward a village that she had been in once before. She had lost track of the days, all of them blending together as fatigue and hunger took its toll on her. Her eyes were drooping as she struggled to continue onward. She couldn't rest now, if she did she knew it would be the end.

The sand was too weak to support her weight, despite her small frame, and she stumbled and fell on her face. The wind was blowing against her, the sand slowly crawling over her. She was too exhausted to move, her eyes were closed, not even strong enough to open them one last time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three young Genin were running toward their home village, jumping from tree to tree. They had been running for a day, with their fellow Suna Shinobi around them. They had just suffered a loss at their last major battle against their former allies. The one leading them back was a tall man with a white turban wrapped around his head, with part of it covering the left half of his face. He wore a Suna headband on his forehead and his standard Jonin clothes which were a black long sleeve shirt and pants. He had his dark beige flak jacket and also had a stern look on his face.

The force of a 300 Jonin had suffered and only about half were making it back, the rest either dead or captured. Though remarkably the only Genin to accompany them had also survived the battle. Though one of them was a given to survive, the other two were definitely lucky. The first was injured after a tough battle against a Konoha Genin named Naruto Uzumaki. His name was Gaara of the Desert and he was the Jinchuuriki of the One Tail Shukaku.

Gaara was 12 years old and had bright read hair with raccoon like markings on his eyes. He had a tattoo on his forehead that said Love yet his face was stoic and displayed none of the love. He wore dark clothing that suited the desert climate and had a large gourd of sand on his back. He had dried blood on his left shoulder from an old injury he obtained during the early stages of the Chunin exams but his prisoner had long ago healed it.

Running along side him were his older siblings, Temari and Kankuro. Temari was the eldest daughter of the fourth Kazekage and she was the oldest. She had sandy blond hair that was kept in four short pigtails. She wore a light purple sweater shirt and a light purple skirt. On her back was a larger fan.

Kankuro was the middle child and he resembled his father. He had messy dark brown hair with black eyes and had war paint on his face. He wore a black jumpsuit with a black hood with cat like ears. He had a large puppet wrapped up on his back.

All of the Suna Shinobi had been running for about a day and a half and soon they would be crossing the border between the land of Rivers and the Land of Wind. Baki was about to call the order to rest up when he spotted a patch of purple among the sand a head of him.

"Halt! I think I see someone buried in the sand!" he called out as he rushed over.

As he neared, he noticed that it was indeed a person, a young girl in fact, who looked no older than Gaara. Using his wind chakra, he blew all the sand off of her and quickly called for a medic. Luckily their medics had survived the battle and with their help, the girl was stabilized.

"Who is that?" Gaara asked with the mildest of curiosity. He had been watching as his sensei tried to help and save this perfect stranger. He, of course, knew of the dangers of the desert and if one wasn't strong enough to survive then the desert would swallow them whole. But ever since his defeat against Naruto, he had been rethinking his whole philosophy on life.

"I don't know, Gaara, but she is dire need of help. By the looks of it, she probably hasn't rested nor eaten in days." Baki said, look down at the poor soul. He knew that since they were going to run through the blazing unforgiving desert that the best thing to do was to put her out of her misery. Still, he felt remorse for having to be the one to do it to a defenseless young girl. Reaching for a kunai, he sighed as he readied himself to kill her.

"No." came the emotionless voice of Gaara as a wall of sand formed around the young girl.

Baki looked over to see that Gaara was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at him. Gaara had never glared at him with this much intensity. To be honest it unnerved him since Gaara was not known for his kindness.

"What do you mean, Gaara? Taking her into the desert in her condition would be a cruel fate for her. Its best to kill her now and end her misery." Baki said, staying on his guard incase Gaara decided to attack.

"No. I will carry her and shield her with my sand." Gaara said, his sand forming into a cloud and carrying the unconscious girl. Then he formed a done of sand above her to give her shade.

"Why are you doing this, Gaara? This is not like you." Baki asked, frowning. He was confused as to what had occurred to the blood thirsty killer he had been before the mission.

"Naruto Uzumaki showed me what true strength is…if I want to become truly strong then I too must protect others." came Gaara's reply. Though it was said with the same emotionless tone, Baki could hear the confusion in Gaara's own voice. He could tell that this was still foreign to Gaara but he was glad that he was at least trying to change.

"Very well, I'll hold you responsible until we reach the village." Baki said. Turning around, he face the rest of his troops. "Rest for an hour, then we run nonstop to Suna."

"Hey Gaara? Are you really going to save her?" Temari asked shyly. Even though Gaara had apologized to them and had told them that he wanted to change, she still wasn't used to this. She was proud of her baby brother but still wasn't ready to fully accept it just yet.

"Yes."

"Um…really?" Kankuro asked, fearful.

"Yes."

"Really, really?" he asked again.

"Yes."

"Really, really, really?" Kankuro asked just once more to be sure he wasn't dreaming.

"…" sand poured out of his gourd threateningly as Gaara glared at his older brother for his annoyance.

"Ok. Got it, you're going to save her. This random stranger that we have never met nor even know who she is. Yes, Gaara is going to do that and I better shut up now." Kankuro said quickly and nervously as his brother still held his glare. At least the sand had gone back it. "Just real quick, I'm proud of you little bro."

"Yea, me too Gaara. This is really nice of you." Temari chimed in happily.

"…What does that mean?" Gaara asked in confusion.

"um…it means that we see that you're making an honest effort and that we acknowledge you in a good way. One that makes us feel like bragging about you." Temari tried to explain. She had forgotten that Gaara had lived an isolated life before of his demon.

"Oh…thank you." Gaara said, sounding genuinely happy, though it was hard to tell with his stoic expression.

They finished their rest and ran toward Suna at a steady pace, making sure that no one was left behind. Gaara ran at the head of the column with Baki, using his affinity to make it easier to navigate the desert. He also shielded the purple haired girl and kept her safe and close by. It gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought of her. It was strange for him to think about someone and not have them dying in his head. It was almost alien to him to think like that.

Still, with his help, they reached Suna by midnight and got the girl to the hospital. All of the ninja were allowed to go home and rest while Baki went to speak with the Village elders. Temari and Kankuro went with Gaara to keep an eye on the girl. Though the village was still terrified of him, Gaara either ignored them or didn't notice them as he stood at the foot of her bed, watching her. Kankuro and Temari had fallen asleep on the chairs long ago since they were exhausted. He was tired too but not by much since his demon replenished his reserves and he also didn't sleep.

The doctors had attached two IV drips to her arms to re-hydrate her as fast as safely possible. The Doctor had told Gaara that she would wake up in the morning if everything was alright. He was surprised that the doctor had given him a straight answer since he looked like he had seen the devil at first sight of him.

It was during the night that his demon would bother him most, making him unable to sleep. Tonight was no different as Shukaku woke up after healing his wounds and restoring his energy.

"**Hey there kid! Whatcha got there? Ooh she's pretty! Are you gonna kill her? Huh? Are ya?**" Shukaku asked quickly.

"_No…I'm not…I saved her earlier so it would be pointless to kill her now._" Gaara thought, knowing that his thoughts would be heard by the demon.

"**But what's the fun in that? Come one, kill her! Give us blood! Me want BLOOD!**" he said annoyingly.

"_No, I will not kill her. Now leave me alone. I don't want to be bothered by the likes of you._"

"**But I'm the only one who understands you! No one else knows what you've been through but me.**"

"_You're wrong…Naruto Uzumaki went through it as well and he didn't give into the darkness like I did…I won't give in again. I'll never give in again._" Gaara thought adamantly. His will seemed to shock Shukaku because he was shocked.

"**So you're really not going to kill anyone? Damn…and I was just starting to have fun. you're a real party pooper! Every party needs a pooper and that's why they invited you! Party pooper~! Party pooper!~**" Shukaku sang, sounding insane as he did.

The rest of the night went with Shukaku annoying Gaara while he tried to ignore him and his constant singing. It was nearing sunrise when he noticed that the girl was stirring slightly. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes and shut them tightly once more, turning her head away from the sun. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked around for a bit until her eyes locked on with his. And for some reason, her cheeks became slightly pink.

Slowly she stirred, feeling that her body felt like crap. She could tell that she was lying on a bed, but whose bed she didn't know. She opened her eyes slowly and immediately regretted it, the sun light was too bright and it hurt her eyes. She tried again to open her eyes and she found herself in a white room. Looking around, she saw a young boy about her age staring intently back at her with a blank look on his face. She didn't know why but she couldn't look away, she felt trapped by him, by his light green eyes. She felt her cheeks become warm, something that she hadn't felt before.

They stayed like that for several long minutes, neither moving nor blinking. Neither of them noticed when Temari woke up nor when she woke Kankuro up. Nor did they hear the whispers the two siblings shared. Finally, Temari coughed after Kankuro seemed to chicken to do it and broke the eye contact the two young teens had shared.

"Um good morning…I'm Temari. that's my brother Gaara and this chicken here is my brother Kankuro." Temari said kindly to the young girl. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"…yes…" she said in a low voice. She was still tired and very hungry. Even though she felt somewhat hydrated, she was still very thirsty.

"Oh you poor dear, hang on. You must be starving and dying of thirst." Temari said getting up from her chair. "Kankuro, go and get some food and water for her. Gaara, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you please go to the house and get some spare clothes for her? The ones she has on aren't suitable anymore."

With a nod, both brothers left, one exiting the door, the other vanishing in a swirl of sand. With them gone, Temari helped the young girl use the facilities and helped wash her up a bit using the sink. As she helped her wash away some of the dirt of her face, Temari saw that she had really nice skin. And her eyes, they were so intriguing, she could see why Gaara couldn't look away. They were dark purple, a lot darker than her light purple hair.

"Wow, you have really nice eyes." Temari told her with a smile.

"You don't have to lie…I know that I'm not pretty…thanks though…" came her reply. It wasn't bitter nor sad, it sounded as though she had accepted that fact long ago and just lived with it. It hurt Temari's heart to hear this from such a pretty girl.

"Hey now, don't say that okay? I don't know who told you that you were ugly but they are dead wrong. You're really pretty, at least once you shower that is." Temari said kindly. She was trying to encourage the younger girl, after all she must've been banished out of her home town is she was left to die all alone.

"Thanks…but really its fine…" she said, smiling at the older girl. "My name is Shilo by the way, Shilo Yagarashi."

"Nice to meet you, Shilo." Temari said brightly.

Soon Kankuro was back and he gave her a glass filled with nice cool water. She downed the drink within a few gulps, causing her to gasp for air once she was finished. During that time, Gaara appeared once again by means of his sand and handed Temari a black t-shirt and some black pants.

"Gaara…are these…?" Temari asked as she looked down at the clothes that he handed her.

"Yea. Is there a problem?" he asked in a disinterested tone.

"No, not at all. I was just surprised…I guess I thought that my clothes would fit her…" Temari said quickly. "That was really nice of you Gaara, I'm proud of you."

"Hi, I'm Shilo…I heard that you're the one who save me." Shilo said to Gaara. He just looked at her with a calm face and didn't say a word. "Um…I just wanted to say thanks…so thanks…"

"…why did you run away?" he asked suddenly, shocking her.

How did he know that she had run away? Well technically she was asked to leave but still, how did he know? "Its kind of a long story…" she said, her eyes down cast. She knew that she had to tell them, she could see their headbands. She knew that she was in Suna, a ninja village. If she didn't tell them now then she wouldn't be able to stay here with that mysterious boy, Gaara.

"…I'm listening…" Gaara said as he stood, his arms folded across his chest, staring at her intently.

This caused her to blush slightly as she looked into his eyes once more. But this time she was ready. She was able to pull herself together and release a long sigh. "I'll tell you…after all, you have a right to know that the girl you're all being nice to is a monster…"

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it, I tried to add humor to it but I'm not sure if I succeeded. Well thanks again and I hope that you will show some love to both my other stories and bloodytears87's as well. Thanks again. And till next time.

R&R


	2. Friends

**Sorry it took me so long to update this. Ive been very busy with my school work and family life. But I've finally gotten a moment to breathe and I'm taking this time to update my stories. From now on I will update them in order so after this comes IF You Could Go Back…, another one of my Naruto stories. I hope you enjoy this and remember to check out the original story from bloodytears87 if you have time. I've taken over for her since I believe that her story should be one that should be finished. I just hope I can do her story justice and finish it. Well that's it for my rambling. Enjoy. **

**Stand In The Rain**

**Chapter 2: Friends**

"My mother and father were killed when I was very young so I don't remember them very well and my clan had been scattered after the Third Great Shinobi War. I grew up in a small village where everyone was scared of me. Its not because I'm a mean person or anything but because I am a monster. My blood has a Kekkei Genkai that can turn anything into crystal and with it comes the reason I am a monster. Whenever I'm in danger, my body reacts and I automatically attack anyone who tries to hurt me. I can't stop it, no matter how hard I try, I can't control it! I'm a monster! I killed 12 people and that's why I had to leave my village!" Shilo had started off okay, telling her story in a calm manner but nearing the end, her frustration and desperation as well as the rest of her turmoil had begun to overwhelm her and she began to sob. It was too much for her at times, having to bear the responsibility of having taken people's lives. Knowing that you were the only reason they had died and were taken from their loved ones.

Temari and Kankuro both felt bad for the young girl but they didn't know what to do to make her feel better. Staying silent, they were shocked when they saw Gaara walk over to her and for a moment they thought they saw something in his eyes.

SLAP

"Get a hold of yourself." he said simply after slapping her. They all stared at him wide eyed as Shilo stopped sobbing and raised her had to her cheek. "You aren't a monster, not even close. Its pointless to blame yourself for something that you have no control over."

Shilo was still in shock that Gaara had slapped her and she didn't know what to do or say. His words had stuck themselves inside her head though. Temari was about to scold Gaara when he glared at her, stopping her.

"I know what its like to be feared for having something inside you, something that is difficult to control. But believe me when I say that if you lose yourself in the darkness that you're feeling right now that you will only prove them right and become the monster you fear the most." Gaara said, staring directly into her eyes. He wasn't the one the talk a lot but for some reason he felt that he had to help her from doing what he did. He closed himself off from the world and only sought to destroy those around him to prove his existence. He couldn't…he _wouldn't_ let her go down the same path he did.

"Gaara…you…" Shilo stared into his eyes, her cheek no longer stinging. She could tell that Gaara was talking from experience. What had happened to him, she wondered.

"You aren't alone…not anymore…" Gaara continued. He recalled his fight with Naruto and how it had changed him. "You no longer have to bear your burden alone. I will help you from now on…I'll become your friend…"

Everyone stayed quiet as Gaara finished, all of them equally shocked. Temari and Kankuro both knew that Gaara had never done anything like this before. They were both proud and amazed at how much Gaara had changed after his fight with Naruto. Shilo didn't know Gaara but even she could tell that this was something that he had never offered to do for anyone. She felt…touched that he would be her friend, despite the fact that she was a monster. Her eyes began to tear up once more and her cheeks became warm. Her shoulders began to tremble and she didn't know why she started but she cried. She lunged herself into his chest and cried as all of her emotions just burst.

Gaara didn't know what to do, he awkwardly put his arms around her and held her, looking over at Temari for help. Temari and Kankuro were too shocked to respond to his unasked questions so he just stood there and let her sob. He didn't understand emotions since he just suppressed them. He wondered what it felt like for Shilo to cry like this. As he thought, a single memory flashed in his mind of when he was younger, the day his uncle betrayed him. Shaking his head, he pushed it back and wondered if that's what she felt.

"Um Gaara? I think she fell asleep on you…" Temari said to him.

Looking down at Shilo, he saw that she had indeed cried herself too sleep. He let Temari hold Shilo and he watched as she tucked her in.

"Temari?" Gaara asked his sister.

"Yes, Gaara?" she asked.

"I'm confused…" he said plainly.

"About what, Gaara?" Temari asked him.

"…her…" he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She watched as Gaara struggled to form the right words. He was really trying to comprehend the situation that he was just in and it seemed like he couldn't come to terms with it just yet.

"Why did she cry?" Gaara finally asked.

"She was probably overwhelmed by her emotions…sometimes, when we bottle things up, it can be too much to feel when we release them." Kankuro said, making both Temari and Gaara jump. They looked at him like they had never seen him before. "What? I can be smart too, you know."

"Kankuro…is that really you?" Temari asked him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Of course its me, who else would it be?" he said, frowning.

Gaara just watched as his siblings began to argue back and forth as they left the hospital. He still didn't understand what he was feeling, all it was still too foreign for him. These feelings that were starting to surface, he knew that they wouldn't go away. So how would he deal with them?

Shilo had to remain in the hospital for the rest of the, which to her was not fun since the hospital food tasted bad. But to her surprise and enjoyment, Gaara visited her every single day sometimes with Temari and or Kankuro. It was strange to her that Gaara kept coming back every morning to visit her since no one had ever done that before. She was glad that he kept coming back and for some reason she noticed that every time that he was near her, her cheeks felt warm. But she just thought that it was due to the fact that she had a slight fever when she was admitted.

Today was going to be the day that she would be released and she was happy cause Gaara said that she would be going to stay with him and his siblings at their house. She was so happy that even the hospital food tasted good to her. She spent the morning humming herself a sweet melody from her past. She didn't know where she heard it from but whenever she felt happy she would hum it to herself.

The nurse walked in and smiled as she heard Shilo's humming. "Wow, sounds like you're in a good mood" she said as she brought in a pitcher of water and a cup for her.

"I am? I hadn't noticed." Shilo said shyly.

The nurse saw as Shilo lowered her head slightly as her cheeks gained a faint pink blush. "Of but of course, I know why you are so happy today. You can finally leave the hospital and go outside."

"Yes, I am happy about that but…" Shilo said. "I'm happy cause I'm gonna get to live with Gaara and his siblings."

"Oh…um…well that's wonderful, dear…" the nurse said, hesitating when she mentioned Gaara.

"Yup, I'm just waiting for him to show up." Shilo said happily, not noticing the nurse's hesitation.

"Did you tell him at what time you'd be released?"

"Yup Yup. He asked me last night."

"Well okay, dear. I'm going to go now and finish my round. Don't forget to ask for a nurse to escort you to the front at noon, okay?"

"Okay! Good bye!" Shilo said, waving goodbye.

For the next few hours, Shilo waiting by reading some of the books that Gaara had brought her. She had also changed into a black t shirt and shorts that Gaara had given her. Temari had told her that once she was out of here that they would go shopping for new clothes. She didn't think Temari was serious but still it was nice of her offer.

Yet despite all my happiness for finally leaving the hospital, I was still worried about going outside. Being in a ninja village, she was sure that they got news pretty quickly from everywhere. She wondered if they had gotten news from her old village. She didn't know how she would take it if people started calling her monster in front of Gaa- in front of her new friends. She was just getting to know them and their opinion did matter to her.

It was ten minutes till noon when she called for a nurse to come get her. She was taken to the front desk where she signed herself out and walked out the door. She was expecting to see Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro but they were no where to be seen. Still she had gotten out 3 minutes early so it was no big deal. She sat on the bench outside underneath the shade and waited.

**With Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro**

"What do I care if he's dead?" Gaara said, annoyed that he was being held up by his sensei.

"Gaara, Lord Kazekage was murdered by Orochimaru. This is bad because once again our Kazekage was taken out without our knowing about it." Baki said. He had called them into the Kazekage's office where the late Fourth Kazekage and Gaara's, Temari's, and Kankuro's father used to work.

"And I care why?" Gaara said once more.

"He was your father, if nothing else that should at least mean something to you." Baki said.

"I don't care. He got what he deserved. I'm leaving to get Shilo…I'm already late as it is." Gaara said as he turned to leave.

"Gaara wait. There's one more thing you should know…" Baki said as he picked up a file.

"I just got back the blood results from your little friend in the hospital…" Gaara turned back around and glared at his sensei. His sand poured out of his gourd and swarmed over the office. He didn't attack just yet but he was ready. "Why?" was all he said.

"I didn't do it on purpose…I was just informed three days ago when the doctor found something peculiar in her blood. I wanted to double check before I mentioned anything." Baki said, not even batting an eye to Gaara's sand which was about a foot away from him. "She's dangerous."

"So am I." Gaara said. His sand was still in place.

"Dangerous how, sensei?" Temari asked.

"Apparently she has a kekkei genkai that hasn't been seen in over ten years. But that's not what makes her dangerous…" Baki said.

"Orochimaru is after her, isn't he?" Kankuro asked, speaking for the first time. Both Gaara and Temari looked over at him, shocked that he would know something that they didn't.

"Yes, how did you know?" Baki asked.

"I overheard father speaking about it once with Orochimaru before the Chunin exams. He said that he was searching for a girl that was rumored to be able to crystallize everything." Kankuro explained. He was frowning as he thought more about it. "Come to think of it, father said that he knew the village where the rumor had come from."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Temari asked him, angry that he kept something so important secret.

"I didn't think it was her. How was I suppose to know." Kankuro said defensively.

While they were arguing, Gaara was deep in thought. His sand had retreated back into his gourd and he was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. It seemed like his friend was in danger from Orochimaru. He would eventually come looking for her and he, Gaara, would not let that snake get anywhere near her.

"What now?" he asked his sensei.

"We keep her safe. Orochimaru is a dangerous man and under no circumstances is he allowed to get near her or you." Baki said.

"Why Gaara?" Temari asked.

"Because there's no telling what Orochimaru would with the Shukaku." Baki said.

"If that snake comes near me I'll kill him." Gaara said before turning around and leaving.

"Do you really think Gaara can kill Orochimaru?" Kankuro asked Temari after Gaara had left.

"If Orochimaru could kill the Third Hokage and the Kazekage, I don't think even Gaara could fight him." Temari said.

"Hey Baki, what's gonna happen to us now?" Kankuro asked, wondering what would happen to their team.

"For now nothing. You won't have new orders until after the Leaf send their ambassador and we sign the new treaties." Baki said, sighing. "Now go, and make sure to treat that girl nicely."

"Okay, we will." they said together.

**With Shilo**

'_I wonder if he forgot about me?' _Shilo thought as the clock neared one. Her mood had been dropping as every minute passed. _'I should've known it wouldn't last…'_

The clock struck one and the bell rang in the distance signaling the time. Sighing, she hung her head and stared at her legs. Tears slowly formed and fell from her eyes as she cried softly. She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help it. Gaara had made her feel special, in his own way. Sure he didn't talk much but he listened to her and he was her first friend. He even promised that he'd teach her to control her kekkei genkai.

"…what's wrong?" a voice asked her.

'_Oh great…' _"Nothings wrong…I just some sand in my eyes…" she lied as she wiped her tears away.

"Don't lie…tell me what's wrong." the person said again.

"I'm not lying…just leave me alone please…I'm…I'm waiting for somebody…" she said, still not looking up.

"Who?" they asked.

"My…um…somebody I know…" she said. She didn't know if Gaara was even going to come back. Once this person left her alone she would go and find someplace to work and look for a place to stay.

"Is that all I am to you now? 'somebody you know?'" Gaara asked her, raising her chin up to face him.

"Gaara!" Shilo exclaimed as she saw his face. She was so happy that she jumped up and hugged him. Gaara didn't return the hug right away but it was okay cause he came for her after all. "I apologize for being late…" Gaara said, as he slowly hugged her back. He was still new to the whole "Hugging" thing but after talking to Kankuro about it he knew that it was okay. "My father as killed and I was being informed about it today."

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Shilo asked, pulling away far enough to look at him.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Gaara asked confused.

"But you're father just died. Aren't you sad?" Shilo asked, confused.

"No. I hated my father for the things he did to me. I'm glad he's dead." Gaara said, his lip twitching slightly forming a tiny smirk. But it vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" Shilo said sadly. She didn't know that Gaara had suffered because of his father. Maybe that was why he was so quiet and reserved, he was afraid of getting hurt. She lowered her gaze from his and her eyes began to tear up again.

"Why are you sorry?" Gaara asked her, puzzled as to why she would apologize.

Slowly she pulled away from him and lowered her head in shame. "I didn't know that you were treated badly by your father…I'm sorry I hugged you…I didn't know if it would be okay or not. I'm don't know what you're comfortable with…could you please tell me so that I don't end up hurting you?"

Gaara was truly amazed and confused at the moment. Here he was with Shilo and she was asking him what he was comfortable with so that she wouldn't hurt him. He was amazed because no one had ever asked him that before and confused because no one had ever asked him before. He didn't know how to respond to her question.

Unfortunately his silence was not doing good for Shilo's self esteem at the moment. _'Oh no, I really messed up! He probably hates me for making him feel uncomfortable.' _she thought to herself. She really didn't want to mess things up with her new friend. He had been so nice to her and here she was doing inappropriate things to him.

"Shilo…I'm not used to this…talking to people…hugs…" Gaara began. He saw that as he spoke, his words affected her as she began to tear up a bit more. "But I want to learn to be used to it…I want to be your friend…and everything that comes with it…"

"R-Really?" Shilo asked, looking up at him.

"Yes…" Gaara said and to prove his point, he reached over and hugged her. It was a new experience for him to hug someone. It felt…warm…and nice…

But the moment was ruined the moment he heard Kankuro and Temari speak behind him.

"Aww, look at them making up after their first fight." Temari said, snickering behind her hand.

"Don't they look cute together?" Kankuro said playfully. They both laughed out loud when they saw that Shilo was blushing red and that Gaara was glaring at them. "We're just kidding, bro."

"You're lucky I'm trying to change or else you'd be dead." Gaara said to him, his voice cold.

"Anyways, lets go and get Shilo settled, shall we?" Temari said quickly noticing the look in Shilo's eyes. It occurred to her that Shilo still didn't know that Gaara had the Shukaku sealed inside him or the fact that almost everyone was deathly afraid of Gaara.

"Yea, lets go do that instead of staying here." Kankuro said, hoping to change the topic. Then noticing Temari's look he quickly added. "Gaara, why don't you and I go and register Shilo at the administration building and get her some ninja gear while she and Temari go clothes shopping, huh?"

"Do you mind?" Gaara asked Shilo, who was still in his arms.

"N-No…go ahead, I'll be fine with Temari." she said, stuttering a bit.

Temari waited for Gaara and Kankuro to leave before she wrapped her arm around the young girl's shoulders and smirked slyly. "Do you have a little crush on Gaara?" she asked.

"What? No, of course not! We're just friends." Shilo said quickly, her blush becoming darker.

"Hmm…if you say so. But just so you know, Gaara still doesn't know the difference between boys and girls so you could take advantage of that little fact." Temari said, grinning mischievously.

"H-How?" Shilo asked against her better judgment.

"Oh you know…make him share a bath with you…sleep in the same bed as you…that sort of thing." Temari replied, enjoying the look on her face.

"WHAT!" Shilo yelped in shock. "I'm way too young for that!"

"Relax kiddo, I'm not saying you have to sleep with him. Just do what friends do. But I was half joking anyways." Temari said as she walked forward, leading the way toward the shopping district.

"Oh phew…I'm glad you were joking…I'm not sure that I could actually go through with your suggestions." Shilo said as she followed the older girl.

"Half." Temari said over her shoulder."Half? You weren't serious were you, Temari? Temari? You weren't serious were you?" Shilo called after her as Temari laughed. "Temari!"

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? Let me know in a review and if you happen to notice any spelling errors, please let me know so that I can correct them. Again, if you can please show some love to my other stories that I have posted up. Thanks again for reading and till next time.

R&R


	3. I Won't Leave You

**I don't own Naruto. I've finally finished the next chapter of Stand In The Rain. This chapter shows the start of something new in Gaara as he learned to accept his humanity and not kill everything that stands in his way. **

**Also, I'm slowly building up Shilo's character because I don't want things to be rushed. I want them to develop and grow as characters and since I'm writing a Gaara fan fiction, this is definitely something new for me. I'm more used to writing about Naruto than anyone else since he is easy to figure out. But I will try my best and try to do Gaara some justice. **

**Expect some trouble to arise soon as evil reigns its ugly head in and also Naruto and friends will soon be joining us in Suna for the peace treaty signing. The next chapter that I will be writing will be for my Naruto story, If You Could Go Back…, a time travel fan fic. Its about Naruto, at the age of 34, and his 15 year old daughter. The love of his life dies during the Pain invasion of Konoha and years later he is given a chance to rescue her but at a huge price. Not being able to pay that price, Naruto sends his daughter to the past instead while he goes to face the evil Ryuujin clan. Right now Naruto is fighting them in an epic battle, using jutsu that are unheard of. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Stand In The Rain**

**Chapter 3: I Won't Leave You!**

Gaara and Kankuro had just finished filling out all the paper work to make Shilo an official Suna citizen. They also picked up the forms for her to begin her ninja training to learn how to control her bloodline. As they walked, Kankuro kept staring at his little brother from the corner of his eye. He knew that Temari wanted him to talk to Gaara about telling Shilo about the Shukaku but he didn't know how to start. They were heading home since the people would be scared of Gaara. They couldn't exactly go to many places.

"Hey listen, Gaara." Kankuro said. They were about a block away from their house now. "I want to talk to you about something."

"…" Gaara looked over to him letting him know that he was paying attention.

"…Do you like Shilo?" Kankuro asked.

"…" Gaara stopped walking as he continued to stare at his brother. He was truly confused right now. "Explain."

"Well, you seem to be acting different around her…almost affectionate toward her." Kankuro said, turning to face his brother. "I know that you're trying to change but this is a side of you that I don't think even you knew you had."

"Now you're just talking in circles." Gaara said, sounding annoyed.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're growing up and that Shilo is a cute girl. There's nothing wrong with having feelings for her." Kankuro said, trying to dumb it down.

"Again, I have no idea what you are talking about." Gaara said. He really had no idea what his brother was saying. What did he mean by having feelings toward Shilo? They were friends, was that it? "If you are asking me if I bear any feelings of anger toward her, I do not. I find her company…pleasant."

"Okay, that's good. Now let me ask you this, are you going to tell her?" Kankuro asked him with a serious expression.

"Yes. She has to know that I am monster if she wants to live with us." Gaara said, understanding at once what Kankuro was referring to.

"What if she leaves?"

"Nothing. That is her choice. I will continue to be her friend." Gaara said. He lowered his head a bit and brought his hand up to his chest. "Why do I feel something in my chest?"

"That's called sadness…your heart is telling you that you will be sad if Shilo leaves you." Kankuro explained.

"I see…then I will be…sad." Gaara said. There was still much for him to learn and he knew that he would need his brother's help. "Kankuro…"

"Yes Gaara?"

"I want to learn how to feel again…" Gaara said. His voice was monotone but Kankuro could hear something in his brother's voice that he hadn't heard in a very long time.

"Don't worry, little brother. I'll help you anyway that I can." Kankuro said with a warm smile.

With a small nod, both of them continued their walk home, the air surrounded them feeling a lot mot pleasant.

**With Temari and Shilo**

"So did those clothes fit you?" Temari asked the younger girl through the dressing room door. They were in one of the clothing stores within the village and she had picked out a bunch of cute outfits for Shilo.

"Um…Temari? I can't pay you for any of these clothes…" Shilo said sadly.

"Don't worry about it, kid. These are your welcoming presents from us to you. Besides, since you're gonna be living with us, you don't have to worry about paying us back. You're family now." Temari told the younger girl.

"Really?" Shilo asked. It almost broke Temari's heart when she heard the young girl's voice and how it was full of fearful hope.

"Yes, really. From now on I will be your big sister, okay?" Temari said happily. "Now lets see what you put on."

"Promise you won't laugh?" Shilo asked shyly.

"I promise." Temari said kindly.

"Okay…" Shilo slowly stepped out of the dressing room and waited for Temari's answer. When the older girl stayed silent, she dared to look up and saw that she had her mouth open in shock. "um…Temari?"

"OH MY GAWD!" Temari squealed in delight. She flung herself at Shilo and gave her a bone crushing hug, making the younger girl lose most of the air in her lungs. "You are sooooo adorable!"

Shilo was wearing a simple purple sun dress that fit her perfectly. It also highlighted her hair and eyes beautifully. Being only 12, her measurements weren't that big but it made Shilo seemed even more adorable in Temari's eyes. In her hair, she had a hair clip with a white rose to keep her hair out of her face. Truly there was no way this girl could be more adorable to Temari.

"Can't…breathe…" Shilo managed to breathe out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. But I couldn't help myself. You look so cute in that dress." Temari said brightly. She gave her a once over and smiled. "Gaara is sure gonna love this…"

"Re-Really?" Shilo said, stuttering a bit. She was still new to this, being treated with kindness. She was nervous about what Temari thought of her, having gained a great deal of respect for her. And hearing that Gaara would love seeing her in this dress, her cheeks gained a rosy blush on them.

"Oh yea, I'm sure even he will have his mouth open when he sees you." Temari said, reaching over and pushing a loose strand behind Shilo's right ear. "You're truly gorgeous, Shilo…don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

The sincerity in Temari's voice was too much for her to bear and she lunged herself into her adoptive sister's arms and broke down. But this time her tears were of joy, not sorrow. She had never been as happy as she was right now. She was being accepted, she was being acknowledged.

**With Gaara and Kankuro**

Kankuro and Gaara had prepared one of the rooms for Shilo to use, seeing as how they lived in a large mansion. Her room was right above Gaara's room on the third floor. Gaara's was on the second floor. Kankuro's room was down the hall from Gaara's and Temari's room was just a few doors down from Shilo's new room. The whole first floor of the mansion had a huge kitchen and dining room, a large living room, two full bathrooms, and a library. There were four floors in all and the last floor was empty since their father had died. Each floor held two bathrooms and Temari's room was the only one with its own personal bathroom aside from the master bedroom.

Gaara was sitting down by the table, reading the documents left in their father's will. Kankuro was suppose to be the clan leader now but he didn't want the job. He was contemplating giving the role to Gaara but he wasn't sure if Gaara even wanted that job.

"Hey, Gaara…it says here that I'm the new clan head since father is dead." Kankuro said, trying to sound casual.

"So?" came Gaara's reply.

"Well…the thing is…I don't think I'm exactly clan head material so…"

"You want to know if I will take over for you." Gaara said, not really asking him.

"Well, would you?" Kankuro asked.

"Why do you want me to take that role? Why not give it to Temari?" Gaara asked his brother.

"Remember what you told me yesterday?" Kankuro asked him. "When we were standing on top of the walls as you stared out into the setting sun. I asked you what you wanted to do with your life and you said…"

"That I want to be like Naruto…I too want to protect those precious to me…even if they hate me…" Gaara said. "I want to be the Kazekage…"

"Exactly! If you are the clan head then that will give you some chance at becoming the Kazekage." Kankuro said.

"So only by becoming the clan head I will be eligible to become the Kazekage without any test of my worth?" Gaara asked his brother.

"Well no…but our father was chosen Kazekage after the third Kazekage was kidnapped. Being clan head makes your resume look good. I hated our father too but he was a strong ninja in his day." Kankuro said, trying to convince his brother.

"I see…what about my age? aren't I too young to be the head?" Gaara asked, sounding a bit more interested.

"No since there aren't any age restrictions. The clan leader can be anyone who is either related to the previous clan head or defeats the clan head in battle." Kankuro told him.

"So I have to kill you in order to be the clan head?" Gaara asked, unsure.

"What? No! What I meant was that since you are my brother I can choose you to be my replacement without having to die." Kankuro said rather quickly. He didn't want to have to fight Gaara.

"I see…very well, I accept your position as clan head." Gaara said, doing something that he hadn't done in a long time, he smiled as he shook his brother's hand. It was a small smile that was barely noticeable but it was a smile none the less.

"Thanks Gaara. Now just sign here and it's official." Kankuro said, handing him the document.

"…like that?" Gaara asked him.

"Yes. Now you are the clan head of the Sabaku clan, you are Gaara of the Desert." Kankuro said, trying his best to sound official. This of course made him grin brightly and laugh out loud.

Gaara just stared at his brother as if he were crazy. Was it normal for people to start laughing randomly? He didn't know.

"Hey Gaara, Kankuro, we're home!" Temari shouted from the front door.

"Oh hey Temari, what's go-" Kankuro said as he walked out of the kitchen. But he stopped as he caught sight of Shilo.

"Kankuro, why did you stop all of a sudden?" Gaara asked as he walked around him. He stared at his brother's expression and since he was wasn't talking, he followed it and saw what Kankuro saw.

Shilo was wearing a simple purple sun dress. Gaara was lost in thought as he continued to stared. He had never felt this feeling before, it was as if he were frozen in time. He wasn't even sure if he was breathing. His body just ceased to function. He saw Shilo looking at him expectantly, her arms behind her back. She was smiling shyly at him, almost as if she were waiting for him to speak. He also noticed that her cheeks had a rosy color to them.

"Well, what do you think guys?" Temari asked her two brothers. She knew that they would react like this, but she was silently laughing at Gaara's reaction. He was staring at Shilo with his mouth hanging slightly open. She didn't even know if Gaara could be attracted to someone. Maybe it was time to give him the _talk_? She also wondered if Shilo had ever had the _talk _given to her before…probably not. Oh well, there was always time for that later.

"Wow, Shilo, you look great." Kankuro said, being able to regain himself first. "Isn't that, Gaara?" he elbowed his little brother lightly.

"…yes…you look…beautiful…" Gaara said slowly.

"Thank you." Shilo said beaming. She was happy that Gaara had complimented her. She smiled brightly and she had a strong urge to sing. But she stopped herself.

"Okay now, lets get you settled in before we give you the tour of the house and eat dinner." Temari said as she picked up one of the numerous bags on the ground. "You two help us take these to her room."

They spent the rest of the day showing Shilo around the house, where everything was and where she would be staying. They talked over lunch and got to know each other a little better, finding what their likes and dislikes were. Kankuro informed her that they would train her how to be a ninja as soon as she felt up for it.

Shilo had lots of laughs with the sand siblings, though she was wondering why Gaara was being so quiet. He would respond when someone asked him something but he didn't laugh. Maybe he didn't like to laugh? After the tour of the house, they put on their sandals and left to see the village. Though Gaara decided to stay home for some odd reason. She was saddened that he didn't want to go but Temari assured her that it wasn't because of her.

She tried ice cream for the first time in her life, she was shocked that it was so cold. She enjoyed all of it except for the brain freeze as Kankuro called it. She was surprised that so many people were being nice to her, especially some of the boys her age and older. One of them even asked if Kankuro was her boyfriend.

Temari was laughing her ass off in the inside as she and Kankuro saw all of the boys try to flirt with Shilo. It was hilarious because she didn't know what their real intentions were. It wasn't her fault though, she had just never had the chance to experience this in her old life.

They eventually came back home after the sun went down with a promise to show her more of the village tomorrow after their training sessions in the morning.

"Haha, and that's why Kankuro doesn't like to go shopping with me." Temari said, laughing alongside Shilo.

"Wow, I can't believe that you actually fell for that!" Shilo said, barely able to contain her own laughter.

"Anyways, what are we having for dinner?" Kankuro asked them.

"I don't know yet…why don't we go into the kitchen while Shilo goes and freshens up." Temari said.

"Okay." they both said.

Once Temari was sure that Shilo had gone up the stairs, she pulled Kankuro into the kitchen and said. "Did you see the way those guys were staring at Shilo!"

"Yea, poor bastards…once Gaara sees that there's no telling what he might do." Kankuro said.

"What do you mean? did he actually tell you that he likes her?" Temari asked surprised.

"No, but he did say that he wants to learn how to feel again. I don't think it's a coincidence that he asked me on the same day that he asked Shilo to live with us." Kankuro said.

"Hmm…" Temari said, putting her hand on her chin, looking as though she were calculating something.

"Oh no, don't you even think it!" Kankuro said, knowing the look his sister had.

"What? I'm not doing anything." Temari said innocently.

"I know that look, it means that you're up to something!" Kankuro said.

"Like what?" Temari asked.

"You're gonna try and play matchmaker! I'm telling you right now that it's a bad idea." Kankuro said.

"But weren't you teasing him about him liking her with me?" Temari asked him, frowning.

"Yea but that's where I draw the line. I won't help you with messing around with his feelings." Kankuro said, frowning.

"Oh fine. But I think that they would be good together." Temari said.

"Lets just make diner, okay?" Kankuro said.

**With Shilo**

Shilo jumped onto her bed and hugged her pillow close to her. She had an amazing day today but the only thing missing was her new friend. As she lay on her back, she wondered where Gaara was. Sighing, she rolled to her side and looked out of her window. At first she didn't really pay attention but after a few moments something caught her eye. A stream of sand was making its way up toward the roof past her window.

Curious, she got up and walked over to her balcony and looked up. At first she saw nothing but then the sand began to collect itself and it took the shape of a young boy. When it was finished, she saw that Gaara was sitting on the roof, staring at the rising moon. Leaning against the doorway, she stared up at him, wondering what he was thinking of.

She didn't know why but she felt at ease with him around. Smiling, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence. She barely registered her state of consciousness as the cool air softly caressed her skin. She didn't notice that sand began to hold her as she drifted off into sleep. When she finally came to, she was shocked to find herself in her bed with the covers over her.

Looking around, she saw that no one had entered into her room. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was still dressed in her day clothes and it was clearly night outside. Getting up, she walked over to her balcony once more and looked outside. She was surprised to see that Gaara was still out there with the night air so cold.

"What are you doing up?" he asked her, his gaze still on the moon.

"Um…I just woke up. What are you doing still up?" she asked him.

"I never sleep." he said simply.

"Really? Why?" Shilo asked. She found it odd that he never slept and she also felt sad for him, to never be able to rest…it must be terrible.

"…because I am a monster…" he said.

This caught her by surprise. She knew that she was monster but for Gaara to call himself a monster? She wasn't going to have it. Looking around, she saw a pipe leading to the roof that was used to filter the sand off the roof. She grabbed a hold of it and began to climb up.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked her, his attention now fully on her.

"I'm…coming…up…there…to…slap…you…" she said in between breathes. She climbed half way up there and she only had a few more feet to go.

"Be careful…you might fall…" he said. "And why do you want to slap me?"

"Because…you…called…your…self…a…monster…and…I…won't…let…you…say…such…things…" Shilo was nearly at the top now, only two more feet to go. "…About…your…AHHH!"

She slipped on her dress as she tried to pull herself up, shouting as she fell. Closing her eyes, she waited for her body to hit the ground. After a five seconds of waiting, she opened her eyes and found herself floating a few feet in front of Gaara. Looking down, she saw that she was floating on a cloud made of sand.

"How…?" she asked, not believing that she was still alive.

"I caught you with my sand…" Gaara said. He motioned his sand to set her down next to him on the roof. "I can use sand, remember?"

"Oh yea…I forgot…" she said sheepishly.

"Weren't you going to slap me?" he asked her, his tone sounding bored.

"Well…I was but since you just saved my life, again, I don't think it would be nice of me to do so." Shilo said. "Why do you call yourself a monster?"

"Because I am…there's something you must know about me, Shilo, if you wish to continue being my friend." Gaara knew that he had to tell her but he found it hard to do so. He continued to stared out into the moon as he spoke. "When I was still a baby inside my mother's womb…the man who called himself my father sealed me with a demon causing my mother to die." he created a miniature version of the Shukaku in his hand. "This is the demon inside me at this very moment, the one tailed beast, the sand demon Shukaku."

He waited for her to speak but nothing came. He knew that she was fearful of him now but didn't wish to bother him lest he killed her.

"I understand if you wish to leave, I won't hold it against you. Just know that I will still consider you my friend if you leave." Gaara got up and turned his back to her. "I will take my leave now…I'm…sorry…"

But just as he was going to leave, he felt a weight on his back as he heard someone sobbing. Looking back, he saw that Shilo was hugging him while she cried. He was truly confused as to why she was doing this. Weren't people suppose to fear and hate him once they found out that he was a demon?

"Why are you crying?" he asked her.

"Because! How could you think that I'd leave you? I'm your friend, Gaara! I'd never leave you! Even if you tried to kill me, I'd stay right by your side and let you do it if it made you happy." Shilo cried. She didn't know that he had such a bad life. Now she knew why Gaara could relate to her, why he knew what to say to her. It was because he had actually been treated worse than her. He knew what loneliness was at its worse while she was just left alone for the most part. "I promise I'll never leave you! I will always be your friend!"

"…" he didn't expect this from her. He never expected this from anyone. Slowly, he turned around and let her cry into his chest. It was such a foreign feeling for him, to be comforting someone. It felt…good to be needed, to be helpful. He was starting to feel…warm, it was the only way he could describe it.

The moment seemed perfect for them; the moonlight basking them with its radiance. The cool night air passing over them, sending a shiver down Shilo's spine. Slowly, Gaara surrounded them with his sand, only leaving the top open to let the moonlight in. He could see its light reflect off of Shilo's eyes, her soft, purple eyes. Slowly and with care, he lowered his head, tilting it ever so slightly and leaned in.

**End of chapter. **

So what did you think? Is Gaara really kissing her? I guess you will have to wait till the next chapter is out to find out. Well I hope that you can all show my other stories some love and check them out. I'm sure that you will all enjoy them very much. Till next time.

R&R


	4. I Am The Crystal Demon

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Well here it is, the next chapter. Conflict starts to arise and soon Shilo's enemies will surface. Will Gaara be able to protect her? I guess we will see. Also this chapter takes place about a month or so before the Sasuke retrieval arc. Shilo will be apart of that since Orochimaru will be after her as well but not in the same way. Well I don't want to give too much away, so enjoy the chapter. **

**Stand In The Rain**

**Chapter 4: I Am The Crystal Demon!**

Two months had passed since the day that Gaara had invited Shilo. Two months since she began her training. Two months since she gained what she had always wanted, a friend and a family. Gaara and his siblings were now the family she never had. Every day was surprising, dangerous but surprising.

The reason it was dangerous was because Gaara's blood lust would sometimes overwhelm him and he would shut himself up in his room or on the roof. Temari warned Shilo not to get near him when he was like that but she couldn't help herself. She had to see if she could help her friend. The first time it happened, Kankuro nearly died.

Gaara was in his room with the lights off and Shilo had entered. As soon as she took one step into that room, sand rushed forward. Luckily for her, Kankuro was passing by in the hall way and he managed to save her. Using his puppet, Crow, to cut her free. After that, Gaara tried to kill Kankuro and Shilo but Kankuro held his own. When he finally destroyed Crow and captured Kankuro in his sand, Gaara snapped out of it and came to his senses. He released Kankuro and left the house.

Yet Shilo didn't stop trying to help him and she always tried to be near him. When his bloodlust became too much, which happened during the full moon, he would leave to the desert where Shilo couldn't follow him.

Shilo began her ninja training by learning how to mold chakra and to increase her reserves by doing physical exercise. Temari got her weights to use for her ankles and wrists as well as a vest. Then Shilo would run until she was exhausted, with plenty of water breaks of course.

Then Kankuro would teach her about the gear that Shinobi used and how to use them. Mostly kunai and shuriken practice as well as setting and disabling traps, etc. He also showed her how to use a puppet since it would help her with her chakra control, something she needed. It was a strange teacher/student relationship with them since Shilo would always try her best to please Kankuro, more so than Temari. Since Kankuro risked his life to save her, she had sort of a soft spot for him.

Whenever they would end training for the day, they would go and relax inside the house. Temari and Shilo would often go to the Suna spa and get cleaned up after a hard day's work. Then they would spend time together either going shopping, getting a bite to eat, or just simply walking around.

When she wasn't with Temari, Kankuro would offer to take her out to eat if Temari was busy with a mission. It wasn't a date or anything but Shilo would blush when people would ask if they were dating. Kankuro would laugh and wave them off saying that they were just friends. Shilo was confused though, a part of her liked Kankuro and another part of her liked Gaara.

And speaking of Gaara, ever since he nominated himself for the Kazekage position, he was always away on missions. She rarely saw him anymore except for a few times a week if he was in the village. She would try her hardest to spend time with him but he didn't make it easy. He barely talked and when he did it was either too short or too deep. She was amazed at how mature he was for his age yet how incomplete he was. She always did think back to that night when she almost fell to her death while climbing up to the roof.

When she saw him lean in to her, she thought he was going to kiss her. But all he did was lean in and whisper thank you to her ear. She was so nervous that her heart was beating a mile a minute only to end with disappointment. But still, she couldn't help but think fondly of that night. When he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sent chills down her spine and into her whole body. She had definitely never felt that before.

It was near the end of July now, with August around the corner, Gaara would return soon. He had left on a special joint mission with Konoha as part of their treaty negotiations. Letters had been going back and forth between the villages and soon there was going to be an official treaty signing about something or other.

Shilo was sitting down in the shade of the building as she watched Kankuro practice his puppetry with two puppets. He was doing what was called as the twin dance of mist. He would get his puppet Crow and Black Ant to spin around the target with enough speed to pick up the sand. Then, when the target was blinded by the sand, he would strike with Crow and either capture or kill the target with Black Ant. He had been practicing for hours now, it was nearly 4pm. And he was doing it with his shirt, which Shilo took notice of right away. Whether Kankuro noticed her ogling him or not, he didn't show but she just couldn't help it. She blamed the teen hormones.

"I just love it when he's all sweaty like that, don't you agree Shilo?" a voice whispered behind her.

She was so caught up with Kankuro's new moves that she didn't really register what was said to her and she just nodded dumbly. She then heard laughing and that's when she tore her eyes away from Kankuro.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I actually got you to agree with that." Temari said, laughing.

Shilo was blushing now as she tried to respond to the laughing blond but all she could do is stutter. And to make matters worse, Kankuro was walking over to them, wiping the sweat off his face with a white towel.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked as he approached.

"Oh nothing, we were just…_watching_…your performance." Temari said with a smirk as she looked at Shilo. "I think you're getting better now with two puppets."

"I hope so…I want to be able to help Gaara become the Kazekage and to do that I need to get promoted to Jonin quick." Kankuro said, not noticing the interaction between his sister and Shilo. "So how was your mission to Konoha?"

"It was fine. I got to see that lazy bastard again. Though to be honest, I don't know how he managed to get Chunin before I did." Temari said, shaking her head. "And I'll never understand how he beats me at Shogi all the damn time either."

"Who are you talking about?" Shilo asked, not knowing who the lazy bastard was.

"His name is Shikamaru and he's Temari's unofficial boyfriend." Kankuro said casually. "He is not my boyfriend!" Temari said, it was her turn to be red now.

"Yea, yea, and I'm gay." Kankuro said waving her off. "So when's Gaara getting back?"

"I'm not sure. Did he tell you, Shilo?" Temari asked her.

"He said in four days." Shilo answered.

"Okay. I'm going to go and shower. I got a hot date tonight." Kankuro said as he walked past them. He missed the look on Shilo's face but Temari didn't. "Why don't you take Shilo to that new place that opened up near the under 21 bar?"

"Yea, I'll do that. Come on, Shilo." Temari said, leading the younger girl away.

Once they were up in Temari's room, Temari made sure that her door was locked before she turned to Shilo.

"So, what's going on with you and my brothers?" she asked, her expression serious.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shilo said defensively. She tried to look away from Temari but she couldn't help but stare at her, Temari looked scary when she was serious.

"Come on, Shi. I know that you have crushes on them. I am a girl after all, I can tell these things." Temari said, a little more friendly this time.

"…um…I'm not saying that I do like them, cuz I don't, but if I did…what would you say?" Shilo asked. She was nervous now and her cheeks felt warm. The only reason she was opening up was because Temari used her nickname, Shi, and when she did that, Shilo couldn't help but be honest with the older girl. Temari was like the sister she never had and always wanted. Plus she was her only female friend.

"I would say that there's nothing wrong with having those feelings, its only natural. You are a growing girl that will blossom into a beautiful woman." Temari said kindly, she was sounding motherly, which seemed to relax Shilo a bit. "But you know that you can't have both of them so choose."

"But…how do I choose? Both of them are sweet in their own way…and…" Shilo didn't know how to continue.

"Come here, girl." Temari said she sat down on her bed. When Shilo sat down beside her, she pulled her into a hug. "Its okay, you don't have to choose now…when it comes to love, the heart wants what it wants."

"How will I know?" Shilo asked, voice fragile. She felt as though she was sharing a dark secret that could destroy her. She was scared and vulnerable.

"You will know…just like I did." Temari said. They were both talking close to whispers now and neither knew why. "I always thought I'd be used for a political marriage so I never bothered with boys. But during the Chunin exams a few months ago I met a boy who I never thought I'd ever like. He was lazy, he could careless about being a ninja, and he annoyed me to no end."

"What happened?"

"Well, he defeated me during our match. He completely outsmarted me and made me look like a fool. Then after he had the match won, he gave up."

"He gave up?"

"He gave up."

"Why?"

"He said because it would be to much of a drag to continue." Temari said, a little annoyed.

"Really? that's kind of funny." Shilo giggled a bit.

"Yea, it kind of is. But during my last mission, when I went to Konoha, I ran into him. We got to talking and eventually we played several games of shogi together. Believe it or not, but he actually is a genius. A lot smarter than anyone I had ever met before."

"Um…how did you know he was the one?"

"Oh that was easy and also hard. After he had beaten me and after we came back home. And after we had saved you and while you were in the hospital. I was about try and clean something and I suddenly felt lazy and I said 'what a drag…'. That's when I stopped all of a sudden and I looked up in horror. All of sudden I knew that I was in love with the most laziest person in the whole world."

"Wow…and does he like you too?"

"Well…" Temari suddenly began blushing. "I um…okay, listen, this stays between just us girls okay?"

"Okay."

"Well, during my last mission, when Shikamaru and I were playing shogi, we didn't realize that it was close to midnight by the time we were done. He walked me to my hotel and he wished me a good night. But as I was about to walk inside, he quickly leaned in and kissed me on the lips. Then he walked away. He was so calm about it that it infuriated me because that was my first kiss too. And believe me, I was blushing red because my face was all warm. But I wasn't going to let that bastard get away with it, oh no. I rushed after him, tackled him to the ground, and I kissed him back. I made sure that it was the most passionate kiss he had ever had. And do you know what that lazy bastard did?"

"No…what?" Shilo asked. She was so drawn into the story that she didn't know she was holding her breath.

"He just looked up at me, smirking. Like he knew I was going to do that! So I slapped him and walked away."

"You slapped him?" she asked wide eyed.

"Well, yea…I couldn't let him win." Temari said defensively. "I had to do something he didn't expect."

"But if he is a genius like you say he is, then wouldn't he have expected that too?"

"The annoying thing was that he did expect me to slap him. He told me so the next day when we went cloud watching together."

"Cloud watching?"

"Yea, it his idea of fun. And to be honest, it kind of is." Temari said.

"So what did you do?"

"I used my greatest weapon against him, just to prove to him that he wasn't at all that smart." Temari said confidently.

"Did you hit him with your fan?"

"Nope, I made out with him and got him all hot and bothered. Trust me, that's a woman's greatest weapon. You give them a little taste and you leave them wanting more."

"So are you two going out?"

"Well…neither of us have said anything officially but we did spend a lot of time together. He said that he would be coming here during the official treaty signing next month." Temari said. "He wants to see me again. I think that's a good sign."

"Wow…"

"I know, right? I can't wait to see him again. I told him I'd cook him a nice dinner."

"Um…Temari? Can I ask you something?" Shilo asked, a little timidly.

"Sure, go ahead. You know that you can ask me anything."

"Um…is it bad that I don't want Kankuro to go out on that date tonight?" she asked as she stared down at her hands.

"Of course not…it just means that your jealous." Temari said kindly. "But you have to remember to respect a guy's choices."

"What if Shikamaru started dating someone else?" Shilo asked.

"Well I'd respect his choice." Temari said with a big smile. "Then I'd kill him with my bare hands."

"But you said to respect their choices…"

"I know but Shikamaru is a special case. If he cheats on me then his life is forfeit." Temari said seriously.

"But what do I do?"

"Oh that's simple. Just try to get Kankuro to notice you."

"What about Gaara?"

"Well that's going to be hard…"

"Why?"

"Because Gaara is still new to the whole 'feelings' department." Temari said, shrugging.

"So what do I do?"

"Just be his friend. that's all you can do for now. Gaara wouldn't know how to respond to a woman's…I mean, a girl's advances. Not only has he never had them before but he doesn't get them. His mind isn't hardwired like the rest of us."

"Oh…okay." Shilo said, sounding a little sad.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You want to know a trick to get into any man's heart?" Temari asked her. "Make him something to eat! The best way to man's heart is his stomach!"

"Really?" Shilo asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yea, come on, lets see how good you are at cooking." Temari said. And together the two girls walked down stair to the kitchen.

**With Gaara two days later**

"So this was all a trick to get me to leave the village, was it?" Gaara was standing on a branch in the middle of the forest.

To his back were two Suna ninja, Korobi and Yaoki, and to his front were over 50 Suna Anbu assassination members. He didn't know who sent them but he knew that they were here for one thing, to kill him. Glancing behind him, he saw that more Anbu showed up. They were completely surrounded.

"Give up, Gaara, you can't kill us all." the captain said. They all wore the same uniform with demon masks on. The captain motioned for his men to be ready. "What is your answer?"

Gaara's answer came in the form of sand as he unleashed it from his gourd. But as it came out, kunai were thrown from every direction. Gaara surrounded them with his sand to protect them. But as he did, two puppets came out of the cases that Korobi and Yaoki were carrying. The puppets went after Gaara and tried to slice him with several wires but Gaara blocked it with his sand.

Unable to control his bloodlust, Gaara's sand shot forward after Korobi and Yaoki, aiming for their backs. But before he could crush them, he stopped the sand. He needed to destroy the cases without killing them. That was the hard part.

"Korobi, Yaoki, run away!" Gaara shouted but whether or not they heard him, he didn't know. The captain and one of his men leaped forward and took the cases from Korobi and Yaoki and took control of the puppets.

"This time you won't get away! Water style: Mist Rain jutsu!" the puppets began to shower Gaara's sand with water bursts, slowly turning it into mud. "Your chakra is making it slower to turn into mud. But even you can last forever."

"…" Gaara sent a smaller portion of sand down to the ground below, aiming to make more sand.

"How much longer, Gaara? Did you honestly believe that we'd ever let a monster like you become our beloved Kazekage?" the captain said. Gaara's sand was almost all mud now, it was so soggy that it began to bend inward from the pressure of the wires.

"…" Gaara didn't respond. He was still gathering his sand, he wanted to take them out in one shot.

"What's this? Cat got your tongue? What happened to the blood thirty killer that you use to be?" the captain asked mockingly.

"**Lets kill him! That bastard has crossed the line!**" Shukaku shouted in Gaara's mind.

'_No…I won't kill them…they belong to my village…'_ Gaara thought. He was almost there now.

"**Don't be a retard! Just kill them! You know you want to! We haven't had blood for months now! Give me blood! Give me blood! Give me blood!**" Shukaku kept chanting again and again.

'_I won't kill them…I'm not a monster!'_

"Gaara!" his thoughts were suddenly broken as someone shouted his name.

Looking up, they all saw a wave of orange ninja, all of them identical, rushing forward. One of them had fallen from above and had managed to cut the chakra strings for the two puppets. Then the Anbu began to try and fight back against the overwhelming force.

"Naruto…Uzumaki…" Gaara whispered as he saw him fight off against his attackers.

"Gaara! I'm here to save you!" Naruto said. He landed next to him and helped him out of the muddy sand.

"Naruto…why are you here?" Gaara asked, confused.

"What are you talking about? We're friends now and friends always stick together. Remember?" Naruto said, giving him the nice guy pose.

"Friends…?" Gaara repeated.

"Don't forget us!" Korobi shouted as he attacked an Anbu with his stick.

"Me too! We're here to help you, Lord Gaara!" Yaoki said, fighting back to back with Korobi.

"We are your friends!" they shouted together. "We're sorry we ran off before but we won't do it again!"

"Gaara!"

Turning around, Gaara and Naruto saw three Shinobi rushing over to them. The first was blond Suna ninja riding a whirlwind. That was the best way to describe Temari as she flew into battle, her eyes burning with anger. She used her fan to knock them away from Gaara.

The next was Kankuro, using his two puppets to attack and paralyze his enemies. He was pissed and his enemies knew it. And the last one was Shilo, she charged into battle along side Kankuro. She was using a puppet as well since she was still didn't know many jutsu.

"Gaara! Are you okay?" Kankuro asked as he and Shilo jumped next to them.

"Yea…I'm fine. What are you doing here?" he asked them. He was surprised to see Naruto there but to see his family was another thing entirely.

"I over heard Baki arguing with two rouge members of the council. After he arrested them, he sent me and Temari to back you up while he took care of the council. We brought Shilo along since she didn't want to be left behind while you were in danger." Kankuro explained to him.

"Yea, I wasn't going to let them come out here with out me. I'm your friend, Gaara, and friends always stick together." Shilo said. She was busy battling two Anbu and they were dodging her attacks with ease.

"…I see…thank you…" he said to them. Looking down at the ground, he focused his chakra and raised his hands. A giant wave of sand rose from below them, completely covering the tree tops, when it settled down. All of the Anbu were captured by Gaara's sand. All except for one.

"Now you die!" the captain, being a Jonin, managed to replace himself with a log before the sand got to him.

Gaara's sand was still muddy so it didn't respond as the attack came near. The captain had his katana aimed right for Gaara's heart. Kankuro tried to move his puppets in to intercept, Temari tried to swing her fan, Naruto rushed forward. But as Gaara blinked, all he saw was blood spraying across his face.

"…Shilo…" Gaara whispered as he watched her in front of him.

She had jumped in front of him and took the blade that was meant for him. It was sticking thru her stomach and warm blood was leaking out. Her breathing was labored and she was trembling from the pain.

The captain watched as the lavender haired girl took his attack. He tried to avoid it but the best he could do was lower the point just enough to miss her heart. Looking at her now, she was glaring at him with murderous intent. He could feel her bloodlust rising with each breath she took. He was fearing for his life as something primal seemed to escape from the young girl. The last thing he saw was a large wave of lavender crystals heading toward him.

"Shilo, no!" Gaara shouted but it was too late. His sand was of no use to him at the moment and Shilo wasn't in control of her actions. He could tell because of the way her chakra felt. It was similar to his when he used to kill everyone.

The captain was incased in a block of crystal, his life extinguished before their very eyes. Everyone watched as the crystal fell down below and broke into a million pieces. After that, they all gave up and surrendered. Gaara was bad enough but with killer intent rolling off of Shilo, they thought it best to quit.

But Shilo wasn't done, she staggered to her feet and slowly turned around to face the rest of the Anbu. Her eyes were hidden by her hair but her chakra gave them a clear picture at what she was going to do. With a wave of her hand, the lavender crystals that were on the ground suddenly merged together and were sent after the Anbu.

Gaara used his sand that was surrounding them to try and block her attack but his sand was quickly turning into crystal and was added to her attack. The Anbu prisoners shouted as the crystal drew nearer but they were saved as Naruto's clones jumped in the way and saved them. But it was only temporary as the clones were dispelled by the crystal shards.

"Shilo, listen to me, you have to stop!" Temari shouted as she landed near the girl.

"Must…kill…" Shilo said, her voice sounding deep, almost like a growl. "Must…Destroy!"

Most crystals appeared as she turned the leaves around them into shards. They all flew at the Anbu but Kankuro blocked them with Crow and Black Ant. Temari landed next to Kankuro and used her fan to send the rest of the shards back.

"Please stop this, Shilo. I'm fine. See?" Gaara said as he stood front of her. But she didn't look at him.

"Must…kill!" she touched the tree trunk beside Gaara and the whole tree was suddenly turned into crystal. Gaara grabbed her and leaped away as the crystal tree was sent after the prisoner Anbu.

"Lightning Blade!" Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and destroyed most of the crystals. "What is going on here?""Kakashi sensei, that girl has gone nuts! She's trying to kill the guys who wanted to kill Gaara!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his Rasengan into the crystal wave sent at him.

"Chidori!" Sasuke appeared next to Naruto and covered his back from another attack.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as she landed next to Korobi and Yaoki.

"Gaara, get away form her now." Kakashi ordered as he leaped at her.

"What will you do?" Gaara asked, not leaving her side.

"I will only knock her out. I won't kill her, I promise." Kakashi said. He landed next to Gaara and he lifted up his headband. Using his Sharingan, he knocked her out with a simple Genjutsu. "There…that should do it."

"Thank you…" Gaara said. "But she will die if she doesn't get help soon…"

"Don't worry, I can stabilize her for now. Then we can take her to the leaf village and heal her there since Konoha is closer and safer compared to the desert." Kakashi said.

"Okay…but what of our mission?" Gaara asked him.

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure that your brother and sister won't mind filling in for you. Naruto will escort you and your friend back to the village once I'm done." Kakashi said, giving him an eye smile.

"…I thank you for your help…she is…precious to me…" Gaara said all of a sudden.

"I believe she feels the same way, Gaara." Kakashi said as he began his work to stabilize her.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you guys think? The story is unfolding now and Gaara now sees the danger that Shilo possess. But so does everyone else. Will this put a hamper on their friendship or, as Kakashi said, will it strengthen their bonds because of it? Also Shilo seems to be crushing on both of the brothers. And let me just tell you that no, this isn't a harem. So please don't ask. I don't like harems because to be honest, its not realistic so I don't write about it.

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next story that I will be updating will be If You Could Go Back. Right now Naruto is fighting against the evil Ryuujin clan who has messed with his family and is using his own kids and wife against him. How can he fight back without killing them? This is an answer that you will only find in the next chapter. Well I hope that you can all show my other stories some love. Also I made an offer in my last story and I will offer it here as well. If this chapter can get five reviews, I'll post up the next chapter before I update If You Could Go Back. I'm not holding the chapter's hostage like some authors do. I'm just offering a chance for a quicker update. that's all, if not then the chapters will come out in the same order as they have been all this time. No worries. Ok. Till next time.

R&R


	5. Sex Ed

**I don't Naruto.**

**Hello again and welcome to another installment of Stand In The Rain. This chapter is more of a filler chapter since Shilo will have to recover from her fight in the last chapter. In this chapter, Naruto and Gaara spend time together as friends for the first time. And as the chapter implies, Naruto will try and teach Gaara about the Birds and the Bees. **

**Also I have an announcement to make. Because of work, life, and writing, I've decided to put some of my stories on hold for now. The reason being is because I've got to work more hours so that I can save up enough money to get a dental surgery done. I have to get bridge work done its not cheap. For now, the two stories that I'm going to continue for sure are Just One Chance and The War Of Destiny. Both of them have become pretty popular in their own right and I feel like I should continue them. As for my other stories, I will update them when I can. Like I said, I'm not quitting them, I'm just taking short breaks here and there. **

**Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. Till next time.**

**Stand In The Rain**

**Chapter 5: Sex Ed**

After a day of constant running, Gaara and Naruto made it to Konoha and they were able to take Shilo to the hospital just in time to save her. Tsunade personally made sure that Shilo would be okay and after both Naruto and Gaara recovered with (for Naruto at least) a couple dozen bowls of ramen, they were allowed to visit her. Shilo was still unconscious however and that left Naruto and Gaara sitting alone.

After a few moments of waiting, Naruto couldn't take it anymore.

"So Gaara, how have you been?" Naruto asked. It sounded awkward to him but truth be told, he didn't really know Gaara that well.

"I have been well…aside from yesterday, no one has tried to kill me. Nor have I killed anyone since I last fought you." Gaara said in a calm tone. He kept his gaze on Shilo even as he spoke to Naruto.

"That's good…I guess. Well, um…I'm not sure what to say…its kind of hard to talk to you when you're so closed off." Naruto said.

"Closed off? What do you mean?" Gaara averted his gaze toward Naruto, his curiosity peaked.

"Well, you don't show much emotion so its hard to tell if your happy or if something is bothering. Don't get me wrong, I still consider you my friend and I will always help you no matter what. But it would be easier for me if I got to know you a little better, you know what I mean?"

"I think I do…" Gaara said after a moment. "What would you like to know?"

"Well…what are your likes, dislikes? Favorite food? And most importantly, what's your new purpose in life?"

"You ask good questions, Naruto. To start off, I don't like much and I still dislike a lot of things. What those things are, I am still trying to figure out. As for food, I do enjoy this…ramen of yours, as well as meat and other delicacies from Suna. But as for my purpose…" Gaara looked back at Shilo for a long time before he answered. "I do not know what my true purpose is at the moment. But I do know one thing…I want to protect my village and the people who inhabit it. They are…precious to me…just like your village is precious to you."

"So you want to be the Kazekage?" Naruto asked.

"Yes…just as you wish to be the Hokage…" Gaara said.

"What about her?" Naruto said, glancing at Shilo's sleeping form.

"…she is an enigma to me…" Gaara said after a moment.

"A what?"

"…she confuses me…Naruto…she makes me feel…"

"Feel what?"

"…Feel…there is no other word that I can use to describe it since I am no expert with feelings. But suffice to say that I do not wish to kill her…nor do I wish for her to leave me…"

"Do you like her?" Naruto asked.

"You are the second person to ask me that, Naruto…but how does one know what that means when one has never known what it is to begin with?" Gaara asked.

"Whoa…you lost me there…" Naruto said, clutching his head for a bit.

Chuckling lightly, Gaara closed his eyes and spoke again. "I am foreign to human emotions…love, compassion, kindness, these emotions that I have long since buried I am searching for once more. I do not know where I left them but I am searching for them, hoping that I can learn to feel again."

"Well I think I know how to help you, Gaara, my friend!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Really?" Gaara asked, his expression softening a bit.

"Yup! Wait right here, I'll be right back!" and with that Naruto ran out the door and was gone for 20 minutes before he came back running holding an orange book. "Here, read this!"

"What…is it?" Gaara asked, accepting the book.

"it's the book that Pervy Sage wrote! I haven't read it but Kakashi sensei once said that it contained love, compassion, kindness, and romance as well as action and adventure. I'm sure that if you read it, you will learn a lot from it. After all, Iruka sensei has always said that if I read then I would get smart." Naruto said proudly.

"Naruto? Why does it say mature content?" Gaara asked as he read the cover.

"Huh? Oh it probably means that there will be intense fighting. I know that some of our fights would scare a lot of people." Naruto said, nodding his head knowingly.

"Oh…very well, I shall read it. Thank you…Naruto…" Gaara said, genuinely grateful. "No problem…but once you learn from that book, use what you learn to interact with people. Also, keep it hidden from others. We don't want the whole world to know that you're learning from a book."

"Why not?"

"Because then they will view it as childish and since we are ninja we must maintain our image."

"I…guess that makes sense…" Gaara said after thinking it over.

"Okay…now its getting late, how would you like to stay over at my place?" Naruto offered.

"I would like that…" Gaara said as he stood up.

"Okay…lets go. Tomorrow when visiting hours are up we can come back and see her, okay?"

"Yes…" Gaara said.

The walk to Naruto's apartment went without much incident, the talked for a bit, Naruto talked mostly about the things he liked. Eventually their talk wound up on the girls in Naruto's life. Gaara took an interest in this topic because he wanted to know how to treat Shilo since she was his only female friend.

"…And then Sakura punched me in the face…" Naruto said as he opened the door to his apartment.

"…So far, it appears that the pink haired one is rather mean to you…" Gaara said after a moment. "Are you sure she is female?"

"Huh? Of course she's female! I mean, I know that she's not that big yet but she'll grow." Naruto said, making a cupping motion in front of his chest.

"What do you mean?" Gaara asked confused.

"Never mind. But why did you did you think she wasn't a girl?" Naruto asked him, wondering why.

"…I'm not sure what the difference is between boys and girls…" Gaara said. "They all look the same to me."

"Well…how do I explain it? Boys are born with penises and girls aren't." Naruto said.

"…how can you tell who has a penis and who doesn't?" Gaara asked. "Don't people normally wear clothes?"

"Yea…but there's also another way to check. Girls are born with breasts."

"What are breasts?"

"You know, they are those…um…here, let me show you. Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto then transform into a beautiful, voluptuous, and very naked female version of Naruto.

Gaara watched as Naruto walked over to him, swaying her hips from side to side. She turned around once and them sat down on the bed.

"Now do you see the difference?" she asked him, giving him a playful smile.

"…not really…" Gaara said.

Naruto undid the transformation and looked at his friend. "Did you see the things on my chest? Those are boobs, breasts. Those what girls have that boys don't!"

"…okay, so females have breasts." Gaara said.

"Yes."

"And men do not."

"No, we do not."

"Then why did you have breasts a minute ago? Are you really a girl?"

"ARGH!" Naruto shouted in frustration. After taking a deep breath, he calmed down and looked over at Gaara. "No, I am not a girl. But tomorrow I will take you to meet some girls that way you can see the differences, okay?"

"Okay…to be honest, this is really confusing. I don't see why you like that Sakura person. He sounds pretty mean and is violent toward you." Gaara said.

"First off, its "her" not "he". Sakura is a girl. Second, I know that's she's sometimes mean but it isn't her fault."

"Then who's is it?" Gaara asked. "Because it sounds to me that h-she doesn't like you. She hits you for the tiniest thing. She belittles you and I'm willing to bet that she doesn't even know it was you who saved her from me."

"Huh? Of course she knows!" Naruto said confidently.

"Are you sure? Has she thanked you?" Gaara asked him.

"Well…no…but we have been busy lately." Naruto said, no longer sounding sure.

"…Naruto, has Sakura ever done anything to indicate that she "likes" you?" Gaara asked.

"…well…" Naruto couldn't answer him. The longer he thought, the sadder he felt. He couldn't think of a single time that Sakura had ever done anything nice for him. "No…"

"Why are you sad?"

"I…it feels like my heart has been torn apart…" Naruto said after a moment.

"I think I know how that feels…when my uncle tried to kill me, I thought I lost the only person to ever love me." Gaara said.

"I'm sorry…but when Sakura comes back, I will ask her if she remembers who saved her. If you're right and she doesn't know it was me then I will have to rethink some things." Naruto said.

"How do you tell if a girl likes you?" Gaara asked. "I don't know…I can't even get one girl to notice me." Naruto said.

"What about pale eyes?" Gaara asked suddenly.

"Huh? Pale eyes? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked confused.

"The person you fought for in the Chunin exams. You swore on her blood that you would avenge her, remember?" Gaara said. He only remembered because he also wanted to kill the brown haired pale eyes at the time. Plus there was blood involved and he never forgot when blood was involved.

"Oh you mean Hinata. What about her?"

"I noticed that she never took her eyes off you. Does that count as noticing?" Gaara asked.

"Hinata? No way! There's no way she'd ever pay attention to a guy like me. Besides she and I are just friends."

"Are you sure? She fought that fight in order to prove something to you. I believe she was trying to get you to notice her." Gaara told him.

"But…" looking back, he could remember that Hinata was always there in the background. She never put him down and if they ever spoke, she was always nice to him. She even let him copy off her test. Then she was always getting red around him and sometimes she would faint. Could it be that she liked him?

"Did you just figure something out?" Gaara asked, curious.

"Yea…I think I did…" Naruto said slowly.

"So…what is it?"

"I'm not sure just yet…but when I know for sure, I'll let you know, I promise." Naruto said. Yawning, he stretched before looking back at Gaara. "Well, I'm getting sleepy. I know that you don't sleep but you can read that book while you stay here. I'm going to sleep now. Good night."

"Good night…"

The next morning, after getting some breakfast at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto and Gaara went to visit Shilo but she was still unconscious. After being told by Tsunade that Shilo wouldn't be awake for another day, the boys left to go and find Naruto's friends. It was a Sunday so most of the Genin teams would be getting the day off. The first place they went was to the barbeque restaurant that Choji loved. There they found Shikamaru and Choji. After some new introductions, the two friends decided to join them in their search for the rest of the Rookie 9.

With Choji's suggestion, the four of them walked toward the Yamanaka Flower shop and found Ino sitting behind the counter, bored out of her mind. When Ino saw Gaara, she was a little afraid but once Naruto introduce him as his friend, Ino, reluctantly, agreed to join them. The next on their list was Team 8 and since it was Sunday, Shikamaru suggested they look for Team 8 in their training field. The only one there was Kiba with Akamaru and they were just finishing their walk.

Kiba joined them and they went to Shino's house to find him. With a silent nod, Shino joined them and they continued off to find Hinata. Their group went to the Hyuga compound and after arguing with the guards, Naruto did anyways, Neji and Hinata came to meet them. While they had only invited Hinata, Neji decided to tag along and he asked them to find his teammates. Tenten was easy to find since she was at her house, working at her family's weapon shop. She was surprised that Neji was "hanging out" with the rookies but she joined them anyways.

The last one on their list was Lee but since he was still recovering from his injuries they decided to let him rest. It was a strange group they had, 8 Konoha Genin, a Suna Genin, and a Konoha Chunin. They didn't really know where to head except for the training grounds. So after a quick question, they all decided to head there. Along the way, the ice was slowly being broken as Gaara made small talk with them. They were all still scared of him but since Naruto was giving him a second chance, they all decided to do so as well. Shikamaru spoke to him about shogi and it turned out that Gaara had played it before.

Choji talked to him about food and how it was the most important thing in life. He gave a small sermon about how people who eat ramen can never be evil and that if Gaara continued to eat the delicious broth of ramen that he would someday find true happiness. Shino didn't say much, just silence passed between them. But strangely enough, both boys seemed to communicate like that.

Kiba shared some of his adventures that he and Akamaru had when they were younger. Neji didn't say anything but that was because he rarely spoke to anyone. By the time they arrived at training ground seven, only the three girls had yet to talk to him.

"Okay, I bet you're all wondering why Gaara and I asked you to come here." Naruto said once they were all seated.

"Yea, it cool that we get to hang out and all but we would like to know why." Kiba said.

"Well, I wanted to ask you guys for help. You see, Gaara here, needs our help. He wants to learn how to feel again. He wants to be like us and not a blood thirsty killer like he used to be." Naruto said.

"And what exactly do you want us to do?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, the first thing we need to do is show Gaara the difference between boys and girls."

Everyone stared at Naruto as if he were crazy but after glancing at Gaara's calm yet serious face, they knew he was telling the truth.

"How are we suppose to do that? Get naked in front of him?" Ino said sarcastically.

"I already tried that." Naruto said, not getting her sarcasm. "I showed him my sexy jutsu but it didn't work. Now he kind of thinks I'm a female."

"Its true." Gaara said, earning a stare from everyone.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You want us to teach him…the difference…between males and females?" Neji asked.

"Yes!"

"I'm out of here." Neji said, turning around and walking away.

"Hey wait, if you go then your gonna miss out on a great idea of mine!" Naruto called out.

"What idea?" Neji asked, curious.

"I propose that we role play for Gaara. If he sees us interacting, boys with girls, then maybe he could see the difference." Naruto explained to them.

"And what part of this idea makes me want to stay?" Neji asked.

"Well at the end of the role play, I figured we could do some light sparring, I'm sure that you want a rematch against me, right?" Naruto said.

"Do you really expect me to fall for such an obvious tactic, Naruto?" Neji asked him, frowning.

"What? Is the great Neji too good to help out his friends? Or is he just scared that he will lose?" Naruto said, taunting him.

"Very well, I accept your challenge. Lets hurry up and teach Gaara so that I may mop the floor with you." Neji said, not knowing what he was getting himself into.

"Okay first up, who wants to be first to role play?" Naruto asked. "It has to be one girl and one guy."

"I would like to go first, to see if I learned anything from last night." Gaara said, raising his hand.

"I guess I'll go first then." Tenten said, standing up.

They both walked ten feet in front of the group, both looking at each other. With the go ahead from Naruto, Gaara began.

"Hello, my name is Gaara."

"Hi, I'm Tenten, it's nice to me-" Tenten began but was cut off as Gaara suddenly closed the distance between them and enveloped her in a deep kiss.

Everyone gasped and watched wide eyed as Gaara deepened the kiss by lowering her down and holding her up with his sand. At first Tenten was surprised but then her surprise left as she melted into the kiss. It lasted for several moments before Gaara ended the kiss. He didn't looked as though he kissed anyone while Tenten took several moments to recover. Gaara was still holding Tenten up with his sand but he was looking at them now, awaiting their feedback.

"Did I do okay?" he asked, not fully understanding their silence.

"Um…" no one could speak. This had caught them by surprise and even more so because Gaara looked as though nothing happened.

"Gaara, where did you learn that?" Ino asked after she recovered.

"From the book Naruto gave me." Gaara answered.

"What book?" she asked again.

"I can't tell you that, it's a secret." he said.

"Tenten? Are you okay?" Hinata asked, her voice sounding shy and timid.

"I…" Tenten was still recovering behind Gaara.

"Whoa, Neji, are you okay?" Kiba asked.

Everyone turned to face Neji, who was standing with his hands clenched into fists and his face red with anger. He was glaring at Gaara with his Byakugan active.

"…Neji? Are you jealous?" Ino asked him.

"Huh? What? Are you insane? Why would I be jealous? I do not get jealous, we Hyuga are in perfect control of our emotions." Neji said, snapping out of his rage mode.

"Sure…anyways, Gaara, do you know now what the difference is between boys and girls?" Ino asked him.

"No…" Gaara said. "But…I think I did notice something. Tenten felt warm."

"Well that's because of the kiss." Ino said. "You must be a really good kisser to make her feel like that." and to prove her point, she motioned toward Tenten who was still lying on Gaara's sand cloud.

"Did I break her?" he asked innocently.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. But one thing that girls have that boys don't is a chest. Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, take off your jackets and shirts." Ino said. Once they did, she went over and stood by them. "Do you see how mine sticks out and theirs don't?"

"Yes…so those are breasts?" Gaara said, inspecting hers up close. This made her blush red as they all stared at her. Then he suddenly grabbed them, squeezing them in his hands. This made her gasped suddenly before she instinctively slapped him. The slap never made it since Gaara's sand shield blocked her attack. "They feel soft…and…squishy…"

"Gaara, stop that! You aren't supposed to touch those!" Naruto said, pulling him away from the murderous Ino.

"I wasn't? oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." Gaara said, bowing to Ino. "I won't do it again."

Taking a few breathes, Ino calmed down enough to speak again. "Its okay…I didn't realize that there was so much that you didn't know…" she said in an understanding tone. "But if you ever touch me like that again, I will turn your mind into jelly, you got it?"

"Yes." Gaara said, slightly afraid of Ino's sweet voice.

"Okay…so now what?" Shikamaru asked. He was slightly amused by the proceeding but he was still bored.

"Well that depends. Gaara, do you think you can start seeing the difference between boys and girls?" Naruto asked him.

"…let me see…" Gaara walked over to Neji and eyed him for several moments. Then he did the same to Shikamaru and Choji. Then to Hinata and Shino. "These two are female while these three are male." he said, pointing at Neji and Hinata first and them at Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino last.

This made Kiba laugh hard as he saw the looked on Neji's face for being called female. Naruto and the others laughed too but not as hard as him. Neji on the other hand was too shocked to respond at first. But then he recovered and tried his best to look in control.

"Excuse me but I am not a female. I am a male." Neji said.

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked him, cocking his head slightly to the right. "You look like a girl…your skin is similar to hers."

But before Neji could speak, Naruto decided to intervene. "That's close enough, Neji, for now, you're a girl. Hey, who wants to do something else now?" Naruto said, leading Gaara away from the now furious Hyuga.

"How about we get something to eat?" Choji suggested.

"Choji, we just ate like 30 minutes ago!" Ino said, frowning at her teammate.

"Actually that's a great idea. Anything to get me away from Mr.-Can't-Take-A-Joke over there." Naruto said, grabbing onto Gaara and Hinata and leading them back into town.

Not having much choice, they all followed Naruto as he tried to get away from Neji. Gaara's sand was still carrying Tenten, who had still not recovered. Neji stayed rooted on the spot as his anger built up inside of him, his Byakugan locked on onto the person responsible for his humiliation.

"Naruto!"

**End of Chapter.**

R&R


	6. Lessons In Friendship

**I don't own Naruto. **

**Wow, its been almost a year since I last updated this. I've been so busy with my other stories that I haven't been paying too much attention to Naruto. **

**Part of the reason I haven't been updating my Naruto stories is because I'm waiting to see what will happen in the manga. If you read the manga then you will know that Naruto is currently fighting against Tobi while the five Kages are fighting against Madara Uchiha, who is currently being controlled by Kabuto. **

**I'm waiting for that calm period in between each major battle so that I can know who lives and who dies. Also I want a list of the jutsu they use so that if I make one that sounds similar I can just use that one instead of having to create a name for it. **

**But the reason I'm updating this one is because I started reading it again and I have to say that I'm proud of the work I did here. If anything, this is one story that I have to finish. So I will try to continue working on this one but I'm not making any promises.**

**Well here's the chapter. Enjoy. **

**Stand In The Rain**

**Chapter 6: Lessons In Friendship**

Gaara sat on the stool at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, watching as the person beside him consumed copious amounts of ramen. He couldn't believe what he was bearing witness too, no human being could eat that much. Everyone around him stared in disbelief, even the Akimichi clan member, Choji, stared with wide eyes. He was frozen with both fascination and interest as he watched Hinata finish and move on to her 20th bowl.

"Holy shit!" Naruto breathed out, his chop sticks still in mid air, halfway up to his mouth. He was on his 12th bowl but Hinata had already passed him.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing." Tenten said.

"Am I in a Genjutsu?" Neji asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Hinata?" Ino asked.

As Hinata finished her bowl, she looked up and saw that everyone was staring at her. Blushing, she lowered her head before speaking. "Um…have…have I done something wrong?" she asked timidly.

No one spoke at first. Everyone was still shocked. Finally, Naruto reached over and placed his hand over hers. "Will you marry me?" he asked her in all seriousness.

This earned Naruto a smack on the back of his head from his blond haired comrade. "Naruto! what's wrong with you? You can't just ask a girl to marry you like that!" shouted Ino angrily.

"Ow! I was just kidding!" Naruto shot back.

"well you could've said so before you proposed like that!" Ino shouted.

As the two friends argued back and forth, Gaara noticed that Hinata's face had become apple red. Not just that, she appeared to be frozen in place as she stared at Naruto. After 20 seconds, Gaara began to wonder if she was even breathing.

"Excuse me, Hinata? Are you alright?" Gaara asked, shaking the Hyuga girl slightly.

Hinata didn't respond. Instead she slumped down, fainting right before him. This worried the young Suna ninja but before he was able to do assist her, Naruto beat him to it.

"Hinata! Are you alright? Did you eat too much ramen?" the blond asked as he gently shook her in his arms.

"Naruto, she fainted." Shikamaru said with sigh.

"She fainted? Why?" Naruto asked him.

"You're such a drag…" Shikamaru said again with a sigh. Naruto was still oblivious to Hinata's feelings for him. It must've been a blessing to be that dense, Shikamaru thought as his own mind wondered to thoughts of Temari. But despite that thought, he still wouldn't want to be Naruto. He had a girl of his own to think about. A troublesome woman but at least she was _his _troublesome woman.

"I shall take her home. When she awakens, I expect you to apologize, Naruto, for you inappropriate joke." Neji said as he scooped Hinata into his arms.

"Um…sure…just make sure she's okay." Naruto said, sounding concerned.

As Neji stared down at Naruto, he wondered if perhaps the blond ninja was capable of harboring feelings for his cousin. While he did find Naruto annoying, he could admit to himself that there was no other Shinobi alive that he trusted more than Naruto to accept and look out for his cousin. If Naruto ended up having feelings for his cousin, it could be a good thing. Yes, it could very well be a good thing.

"Neji, are you alright? You're smiling at me." Naruto asked him, breaking him from his thoughts.

"yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about an idea that I might require your assistance with." Neji said, returning his expression back to its usual calm self.

"Sure thing. Just let me know what it is." Naruto said before standing up.

"Till we meet again." Neji said, taking his leave.

"Naruto, have you discovered anything yet?" Gaara asked his friend, referring to their talk the night before.

"Maybe…I'm still not sure…" Naruto said.

"What are you two talking about?" Tenten asked them.

"Nothing. Now where were we?" Naruto said as he picked up his bowl of half eaten ramen. "Lets finish eating so that we can show Gaara around the Village."

"Naruto, you're so weird…" Tenten said before eating her own bowl.

"He's Naruto, he wouldn't be the number one most hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja if he wasn't weird." Ino said with a smile.

"Naruto is Naruto. there's no easy way to explain him." Shikamaru said with a shrug. Then he smirked as he glanced sideways at their friend.

"You guys make me feel so loved, you know that?" Naruto said, giving them a large grin.

"Is this normal among friends?" Gaara asked them, observing their interactions.

"Yup. Friends always joke around like that." Naruto said, reassuring the Suna ninja. "I know it might look like they're making fun of me but I know that they don't mean it. You can tell by the tone of their voice."

"Their tone?" Gaara asked, confused.

"Yea, notice when they spoke, they didn't sound angry or mean." Naruto said. "They were calm or having simple fun."

"Wow, Naruto, you actually sounded smart." Ino said jokingly, giving her fellow blond a large grin.

"See what I mean?" Naruto said.

"I…think so…" Gaara said slowly.

"Just make sure that you don't say anything that might hurt your friend's feelings." Choji said wisely.

"Explain." Gaara said, confused once more.

"What he means is that some jokes are funny to everyone but the person its about." Shikamaru said. "Take Choji for example. While he's a nice guy and a gentle person, if you say the F-word around him, he loses control."

"F-word?"

With a nod toward his teammate, Shikamaru said the forbidden word. "Never call Choji fat or anything that might resemble the word." he said as Ino covered his ears.

"I see." Gaara said as Ino took her hands off of Choji's ears. "While friends joke around with one another, its not alright for one to intentionally hurt their friend's feelings, right?"

"That's right…its called being sensitive to their feelings." Ino said. "Its harder for boys to understand so its alright if you don't get it at first."

"I see…thank you…I have…learned a lot." Gaara said.

"Well now that we've done that, how about we go and have a tour of the village?" Naruto said, giving his friends a large grin.

After paying for their food, Naruto and his friends gave Gaara the tour of Konoha since the last time he was there Gaara hadn't seen much of the village. They visited the shops around the village, the different restaurants and delicious foods that Konoha had to offer, and the many different sights. Near the end of the day, Naruto took Gaara to the hot springs. By this time, Ino, Tenten, Kiba, and Choji had already gone their separate ways having prior engagements. Only Naruto, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Shino remained.

"Well it looks like its just us three them." Naruto said as he and his friends stood in front of the hot springs.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Shino asked, standing in front of the blond.

"Shino! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." Naruto said quickly, apologizing to his friend. "Sorry man, its just that you're too quiet sometimes."

"That is alright. Just don't make a habit of this." Shino said, accepting his friend's apology.

"Wait, can Gaara even take a bath?" Shikamaru asked, genuinely curios because of Gaara's sand.

All eyes turned to the red head as they wondered the same thing. "Can you take a bath?" Naruto asked his friend.

"Of course…why wouldn't I?" Gaara asked him, wondering why they'd ask him such a question. "Don't people normally take regular baths?"

"Well…yea but we were wondering about your sand. Won't it get wet?" Naruto asked.

"I don't take my sand with me. I leave it with my clothes." Gaara said. "After all, sand tends to get muddy around water."

"Alright now that that's settled, lets go." Shikamaru said.

The four of them proceeded to enter the hot springs and paid for their admission. Taking off their ninja gear, the four friends entered the male half of the springs. Gaara slowly entered the warm waters. While he had taken warm baths before, he had never taken one in a hot spring. Not only that, this was the first bath he would share with another human being, well a living human being.

But he wasn't nervous nor shy, words that he had recently learned. No, Gaara simply sat down after getting used to the warm temperature. It was a nice feeling, to bathe in warmer than usual waters. He could feel the aches and pains from the previous missions slowly soothe away as the water did its magic. Sighing with content, Gaara allowed himself to simply relax, something that he had only done on rare occasions in the last few months.

Reflecting back on his life, these last few months had definitely been interesting. Ever since he had lost to Naruto and become friends with Shilo, Gaara learned a lot about feelings. He had also learned a lot about being normal from Kankuro. His brother taught him how to relax, a concept that at first was too foreign for him to understand. How could one who was used to life and death situations relax? He was hardwired for battle, to kill. It went against his very nature to relax. But Gaara was determined to change. So after several tries, he finally learned to relax.

He had to admit, he liked spending time with his new friends. While he wasn't sure if Shikamaru and Shino considered him a friend, he did consider them his friends. They had talked about several different topics such as training, food, shogi, insects, food, cloud watching, star gazing, food, and missions. Gaara knew that out of the two of them, he enjoyed Shino's company most. While not a Jinchuuriki, Shino knew what it felt like to be alienated because of something inside of him. It was also interesting to know that Shino's insects worked similar to Gaara's sand.

That didn't mean that he didn't like Shikamaru, he did. Shikamaru was clearly lazy, even he could see that but the lazy Konoha nin was clearly brilliant. He would have to play the lazy genius in shogi before he left. And Shikamaru's cloud watching was similar to his own moon/star gazing.

"So Gaara, what do you think about the village so far?" Naruto asked him after several moments of comfortable silence.

"Its very peaceful…" Gaara said at first. He honestly did enjoy his time in the village. In a lot of ways, it was different than Suna. It was beautiful in its own way and Gaara could respect it. If he could live in this village, he would. But he had his own village to protect and take care of. "I can see why you want to protect it."

"Gaara, I've been wondering, what brought you to Konoha?" Shino asked. "While it has been pleasant to get to know you, I am curious."

"Actually, I've been wondering the same thing. I was wondering if your brother and sister would show up as well." Shikamaru said.

At first Gaara didn't answer. He stared down at his own reflection as he felt something within him stir. He felt…sadness. He felt it as soon as he thought about Shilo and her condition in the hospital. Was this what it felt like to worry about someone other than yourself? To show concern?

"Are you ok, buddy?" Naruto asked him, concerned because of the sudden silence.

"I'm…sad…" Gaara finally said after several more moments. While it didn't sound very emotional, all three of the ninjas could hear the sadness in his voice.

Both Shikamaru and Shino instantly felt bad for asking him something that made their new friend sad.

"Listen, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Shikamaru said, trying to comfort the red head. "though I would like to know if your sister is alright."

"I apologize…I'm not used to…emotions…sadness…is a new concept to me and it will take some time to get used to…" Gaara said, returning his gaze to his friends. "My sister is alright, no harm has come to her."

"That's good…I should've known that nothing could take that woman down…" Shikamaru said, trying his best to hide his relief.

"I'm here because a close friend of mine was injured during a mission…" Gaara continued, not noticing Shikamaru's actions. "her name is Shilo and she was hurt protecting me…Naruto and I brought her back to this village in order to treat her."

"Yea, Grandma Tsunade really did a good job! She says that Shilo should wake up tomorrow." Naruto said.

"That is good news. If lady Tsunade treated her then your friend will be alright." Shino said, trying to reassure Gaara.

"I know of your Hokage's great medical skills…but I cannot help but worry…" Gaara confided in them. "I have…doubts…" noticing the looks on their faces, he added. "I'm not trying to offend your Hokage…if apologize if I appeared to."

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Shino all glanced at one another before turning back to Gaara, giving him warm smiles.

"Gaara, its okay if you have doubts. That means that you're human…" Shikamaru said. "I'd be worried if you didn't worry."

"What he said." Naruto said with a grin. "And its not doubts that you're having, its fears. you're afraid that something bad will happen."

"Fears?" Gaara asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"He means that you're afraid for your friend." Shino explained. "Its normal to experience such fears when your friend is in the hospital after receiving a life threatening injury."

"I see…so I'm afraid…" Gaara said. He looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling slightly. He could feel his worry, he could feel. Was this what it was like? Would he feel the same if Kankuro or Temari were ever in such a situation? "Naruto…what can I do to prevent this from ever happening again?"

"I'm afraid that impossible." Shino said. "I understand your concern but so long as you remain a Shinobi, danger and death are always a possibility and in some cases a certainty."

"What you can do is become stronger so that no one will dare mess with you or your friends!" Naruto said confidently. "That's why I want to become Hokage, so that I can protect my precious people!"

"I thought it was because you wanted to be acknowledged?" Shikamaru asked, remembering what Naruto had said back in the academy.

"I did…but I'm already being acknowledged by my friends." Naruto said, sounding wise for once. "Its enough to know that I found people who accept me for me. And I don't ever want to lose them. that's why I want to be Hokage…to do what the old man did, I want to protect everyone."

"That's very mature for you, Naruto." Shino said. "If you ever become Hokage, you will have my support."

"Mine too…I guess…" Shikamaru said lazily. Then he glanced at his blonde friend and smirked. "Unless it becomes a drag…then you're on your own."

Gaara watched as Naruto splashed some water in Shikamaru's face, laughing as he did so. Shikamaru looked annoyed but he smirked and splashed him back. Soon they splashed Shino and the three of them began to splash one another. Was this what friends were like? Was this what fun was like? He didn't quite understand it yet but he wanted to find out.

As his thoughts came to an end, he became aware that Naruto, Shikamaru, and Shino, who was standing behind them, were all standing in front of him with evil looking grins. In Naruto's hands was a wooden bucket and Shikamaru held a wet towel.

It was then that he realized what was going on. They were going to splash him. For the first time in his life, Gaara didn't have his sand to protect him. But he didn't mind, he was being invited to play their game. And he looked forward to it.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? I tried to keep Gaara as in character as possible while at the same time show that he's growing. I want to show that his developing as a character, that his changing slowly but surely.

The best way to do this is to show him interacting with friends. What most stories do is assume that Gaara and Naruto are the best of friends after one fight. No, while they consider themselves friends, I'm trying to show that they still have a lot to learned about one another. Gaara's time in Konoha will serve to strengthen his bond with Naruto and help them become true friends.

Shikamaru and Shino are both included here because I feel like they are the two who can relate to Gaara on some level. Shikamaru is a lazy genius and I think he could understand Gaara and help him learn more about being human. Shino is also similar to Gaara to a certain degree. I'm surprised that many people don't make that connection. Shino's clan specializes in bugs and they put them inside of their new born babies. Some people have alienated Shino because of his bugs, claiming that they are creeped out. While they still talk to him, Shino isn't very social because of this. Not just that but his bugs work similar to Gaara's sand. I think that they could become good friends.

Well that's it for now. Till next time.


End file.
